One of the things that stand out with Chivas USA is the club’s effort to develop young players from its Academy and place them on the track to the First Team or give them the tools to take their talent into college soccer.

One of those emerging players is forward Paul Salcedo, who at just 17 years old, has demonstrated great talent with the Red-and-White U18 squad. In his first year with the club, Salcedo has also participated in three games with Chivas USA in the Reserve League, something that impresses the young forward.

“I played here when I was 12 and I thought that when I was 18, I was going to finish my Academy here,” Salcedo said about the Chivas USA Youth Development Academy. “Ever since I came, things have been looking up. It’s great, the coaching staff, everything is good here. We’re a brand new team, we’re getting together and we’re going to go right up. It’s just the beginning right now.”

As the season began for Salcedo and the U18s in late September, the team didn’t quite get off on the right start. In their first game, which took the young Goats through the Pacific Northwest, Salcedo scored the first goal of the season for Chivas USA in the 1-1 draw with the Portland Timbers’ U18s. The Red-and-White would drop the following two games, but shortly after, the team would start picking up their pace as they earned two consecutive wins, with Salcedo scoring two in the last game.

“I think in the beginning we were a little bit shaky, and that brought a lot of negativity to the team. As we started becoming more of a family, we started being more positive and it made the team get closer. The wins are definitely helping us right now because we definitely needed it and we’re looking more like a family now,” Salcedo added.

Just like any 18-year-old academy product, becoming a professional soccer player is definitely on Salcedo’s mind. As a senior in high school, Salcedo is looking forward to the future. Because of his stellar performances both on the field and in the classroom, Salcedo has made the decision to attend the University of California, Berkeley, where he has already committed to play and plans to attend in the Fall of 2014.

“I chose Berkeley over the other schools because when I went up for my visit, they treated my family and I very good and I liked everything they had to offer,” Salcedo said. “With my old team, we had two of the best forwards with me and they’re up there right now and I thought I’d be good with them.

“I was the youngest from all three, and they’re doing well, so I’m sure I’ll do well up there too,” Salcedo finalized.

Make sure to stay updated on Chivas USA’s U18 Team’s journey through the 2013-2014 U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy season by following us on Twitter: @ChivasUSAYouth & @cdchivasusa.